The Dire Bear’s Witch

by Jessica Ripley

  She’d forgotten the curse the council had placed on her. Magic feedback.

  She gasped for breath on the ground, struggling to collect herself, but knowing it had drained some of her strength. Even so, Slade still needed help, and she would give it to him.

  The tentacles wouldn’t be enough for him to get an edge. She dug into her bag with purpose, looking for the silver whistle, finding it, and giving it a sharp blast.

  Her faithful phantom companion appeared, a dog of a comparable size to the wolves, yet much smaller than Slade.

  This time she was prepared for the magic feedback’s impact. She held her kneeling position and willed herself to ignore the pain so she could focus on the fight.

  The shifter wolves were snapping at the squirming tentacles, her first spell having done what it was supposed to do in distracting and confusing them. The appendages entangled some wolf limbs, but they weren’t strong enough to hold them back. Slade had moved away from them and was engaged with the wolf closest to him.

  Dixie instructed her phantom dog companion toward the fray. It went straight to the wolf closest to her, attacking viciously and without mercy.

  The third wolf, seeing what was happening to his brothers, hesitated long enough for a tentacle to wrap around his hind leg. He yipped, bit at the tentacle, then took one last look at his brothers before running off toward the woods a bit off in the distance.

  The second, unable to get the upper hand on the phantom dog, followed. Dixie’s companion was fast on his heels, and she let him go, knowing he would disappear when he was far enough from her, while hoping that would be long enough to keep the wolves away.

  The first was under Slade, and Dixie knew the end was near if she didn’t intervene. “Slade! Don’t kill him!”

  Slade’s giant bear stilled at Dixie’s voice, but he didn’t back off the wolf. Dixie made her way closer to the two, struggling through the pain inside her and preparing for more as she started chanting a new spell, using one of her bracelets as a focus this time.

  The spell took hold of the wolf, immobilizing him, while the feedback from it gripped Dixie as a sharp, piercing pain. Her body was going on pure adrenaline, but she had to hold it, to get through the situation so she could help her mate and make sure no one had to die in the fight.

  When he realized Dixie had control of the wolf, Slade moved away from him.

  Dixie held the spell, fighting against her pain while Slade shifted and went to the car for clothes. She loosened the spell only when he came back.

  “Shift,” she told the wolf. When he didn’t, she added a warning. “I’ve heard that one of the worst feelings is being forced to shift against one’s will. Do you really want that experience?”

  It didn’t matter that she didn’t actually have that spell. The threat was enough to convince him to shift back into his human form. She gave him just enough leeway on the immobilization spell to let him shift and put on the pair of shorts Slade tossed him but not enough to let him leave the area. Dixie kept a wary eye on the woods, but the other wolves seemed long gone.

  “Did Maeve send you?” Slade asked.

  The man tried to spit at him, but Dixie froze it in place and tightened the immobilization spell, starting to change it into a constriction spell, squeezing him. It increased the pain within her, but there was no turning back. She was doing this. “Why did she send you?” she demanded, letting the pain out a bit in the way she screamed at him.

  “She wants the witch.” The wolf shifter grunted.

  “What does she think this is going to accomplish?” Slade growled.

  “I don’t know. You think she’s going to tell me that? I’m just following orders to bring her the witch.”

  Slade looked over to Dixie, and he must have seen something in her face, because his expression changed from the stern angry look of a man who’d just been in an all-out brawl to one who was worried about someone he cared about.

  “Dixie, let him go,” he told her before looking back at the wolf. “Go back and tell your pack leader and his daughter that this better be her last move, or she’s going to regret it.”

  Dixie released her spell and stayed awake long enough to watch him run into the woods after his friends.

  And then blackness hit.

  At Slade’s age, it was a rare occasion when he could get the blood flowing and really feel alive. Add to it the fact that Dixie walked into the situation, no hesitation or fear, and just started slinging spells… Slade felt unstoppable.

  Until he looked at her and saw the beads of sweat on her head and the way her arm shook as she held her immobilization spell.

  He didn’t know what was wrong with her at first. It took a moment to remember the curse the council had put on her. He saw how much strength she had, as she withstood the pain she was in, but he was ready when she collapsed. He caught her before she hit the ground.

  He looked around, not wanting the wolves to come back once they saw what had happened to her. He didn’t know how Maeve thought having Dixie kidnapped would help her, just like he didn’t know how reporting Dixie to the council would help her. But Maeve’s rationale wasn’t his biggest concern right then.

  He had to help Dixie.

  He brought her into the car, placing her gently in the passenger’s side and then getting into his side, locking the door behind him and starting the car. If they came back, he’d run them over.

  Then he turned all his attention to her. His heart raced. How hurt was she?

  Slade couldn’t tell, and he didn’t know if it would work, but he knew mates could heal one another sometimes. He grabbed her hand and tried to think about what it felt like when he was injured, when he needed his body to heal, but nothing was happening.

  Why? Why won’t it work?

  He had a feeling.

  Despite promising to protect Dixie, he’d stayed at arm's length, not fully accepting her as his mate. He’d not wanted to risk the devil’s curse, yet here they were. Is this how it would end? He hadn’t opened up to her, and she’d die anyway?

  Wouldn’t it be better for Slade to be heartbroken but Dixie to be alive than for her to be dead and him forever haunted by what could have been? By his own dumb failing?

  Slade leaned over the center console to gather her into his arms. She fell into him, her head resting on his shoulder, and he breathed in the scent of his mate. He let his feelings for her take over, the part of him that loved the woman without knowing her. His inner bear, his senses, the destiny that knew this woman was his match.

  She smelled perfect. She felt perfect. She was his.

  Heal, damn you. He spoke to his healing ability, willing it to pour through him, to ride his emotions and love for her, and bring her back from wherever she was.

  Devil’s curse be dammed. This wasn’t how it was going to go. Dixie had an eternity to live. Slade was going to guarantee it.

  He tried to picture her being happy and healthy, thought about her as he already knew her, and as he imagined she’d be in the future.

  But he didn’t see her alone in the future. He saw himself with her, right by her side. He saw more parties, travel, dinners, and nights with her in his arms.

  And finally, she gasped, her blue eyes opening and looking up at him.

  “What happened?” Her voice was soft, shaky.

  “The council’s curse, you passed out.” He didn’t know a lot about magic stuff, but he knew one of the few ways an immortal could be killed was through a curse like that. Whatever magic she used bounced right back on her, and her body couldn’t take it.

  Dixie must have known as well because she looked surprised. “But how am I…”

  “Mate’s healing.”

  “Oh.”

  He didn’t know what she knew about mates, but there was no way she could know how much emotional turmoil he’d just experienced.

  All he was certain of, after all this, was that he needed to get her to the coven and make sure she was far away from him. Otherw
ise, the devil’s curse was going to take advantage of the council’s curse on her and take away his mate forever.

  She would only be safe away from him.

  It wasn’t about a need to protect his own heart anymore. Now it was about needing to protect Dixie at all costs.

  9

  They continued on the road trip, with Dixie dozing off most of the way. He knew she was still healing from the ordeal but couldn’t help but worry that she’d fade away from him again.

  He was elated when the Sommerville House, a large castle-looking structure, finally came into view. As the sun had started to set, many shadows were cast on the building, making it appear more imposing than he knew it to be. Maybe it was more about what he wanted it to be.

  This was where Dixie belonged, where she could be safe from Maeve and the devil’s curse.

  Slade parked in front of the house and shook Dixie gently awake. “We’re here now.”

  “Oh.” She groggily looked around. “I imagined a coven house would be, well, a house. This looks like a school or something.”

  “It is. Inside this place, you’ll find the immortal witches as well as non-immortals, some who teach and some who are there to learn.”

  Dixie’s eyes widened. “That’s a lot of witches!”

  “Yeah.” Slade left the car and pulled their bags from the truck with Dixie right behind him.

  “Do you think they’ll like me? I mean, are they friendly?”

  Slade thought it was cute that she was nervous and wished he could offer some reassurance, but he really had no idea how they treated their own. “I’m not sure. The ones I met are cordial to my family and me because we’re allies.”

  A young witch, a teenager with a halo of umber-colored curls and a solemn expression, appeared at the main entry. “Welcome to Sommerville House.” She opened the front door and waved them inside. “I’m Reyna Quinton, I’ll be your guide while you stay with us.”

  “Thank you,” Dixie said. Slade followed behind her, carrying their bags.

  “If you leave those here, I’ll give you a short tour. We’re about to sit down for dinner, but we have just a bit of time.”

  Dixie looked down at herself, started brushing off imagined dirt. “I would have liked to have cleaned up. Do you think they’ll mind that we’re a bit rumpled?”

  Reyna shook her head. “We’re used to travelers.”

  Sommerville House was a place where many witches traveled for training and mentorship, but it was also a place where non-witches went to ask favors from the witches.

  “Upstairs, where you’re staying, it’s the guest quarters, but there is a wing for the elders and professors and another wing for the students and apprentices.” Reyna took them through the halls, showing them to the different classrooms, libraries, and ending in the courtyard.

  “Here, the outside courtyard has gardens, both for walking and for botany magic, as well as wide empty spaces for magic practice. You’d normally see witches practicing, but they’ve gone in for dinner.”

  It wasn’t gloomy. It had an academic, boarding-school feeling. For anyone who loved knowledge, pursuing it or passing it down, Slade assumed they’d love it here.

  But he hadn’t thought that seemed to be what Dixie was about. She’d talked about travel, treasure hunting, that sort of thing. Even so, maybe she could find a good niche for herself as a treasure teacher, magical artifacts, something like that.

  Slade needed her to. He needed her to want to be here, to be somewhere safe where she could be protected and safely away from him.

  “They’ve just sat down for dinner. I can escort you there.”

  They entered the dining room to dinner, to face one of the longest tables Slade had ever seen, full of witches of all ages.

  The seats saved for them were at the head of the table, and all eyes were on them as they made their way to the front. When they sat, the staff was already setting down salads.

  “Welcome, dear friend Slade.” The witch at the head of the table, Paris Rhone, greeted them. “And this must be your mate, Dixie.”

  It was the first time anyone publicly announced Dixie as his mate, and for a moment, he was flustered. He quickly gained his composure, smiled, and returned the greeting. Dixie sat across from him as Paris went down the table, introducing the elder—immortal—witches. Some Slade knew, some he didn’t. They were the ones Dixie would be meeting with the next day.

  “I am beyond grateful that you’ve agreed to meet with me, and on such short notice,” Dixie said before they were served their salads.

  Paris waved off the thanks. “Please, enjoy your meal.”

  And they did.

  Through dinner, Paris explained certain things.

  “This location, our coven, serves as a permanent home to our immortal witches and a temporary home for our witches in training. Most of our young witches who live with us are youngsters with no other place to go, no others to train with. Witches are few and far between these days, and because of the regulations, as you’re encountering, it’s best we all stick together now.”

  “I’ve never met other witches,” Dixie admitted. “Besides being raised by them. I always assumed we were more solitary creatures.”

  “We all appreciate our alone time, and we’re not often very extroverted, which is why it’s important we all have our own rooms to retire to and the teachers have the opportunity to take leave when they need time to recharge.”

  “Oh, that makes sense.”

  One witch in particular, Adelle, seemed extra interested in Dixie, looking at her more carefully than the other witches seemed to care. Of course, Slade didn’t know what about Dixie interested Adelle, but he hoped it was a good sign. If any of the witches saw something in her, then she’d have a chance to earn her pass.

  “We’re certainly always looking for new talent,” Adelle explained. “All witches have different talents, something new to offer.”

  Dixie nodded but said nothing. She looked like a deer in the headlights, barely eating her food and nervously looking between the witches. Slade wondered if she was nervous and tried to help her engage in conversation.

  “Have you ever thought about teaching before?” he asked her, wondering how much the coven might be appealing to her, though he couldn’t say if he was fully hoping it was or worried it was.

  “No, not exactly,” Dixie replied. “Not that I am not open to the idea. I just always figured it would be just me, by myself.” She smiled a little.

  Slade was surprised that it mattered so little to him about Dixie being dependent on him for her permit. He’d always thought it was an alpha thing to be controlling, but there he was, wanting her to have the best for her, for whatever she wanted. He was rooting for her, for one of the witches to take her on. It was more important to him for Dixie to get what she wanted, rather than what would serve him.

  It was a novel feeling, and one he was kind of proud of.

  When dinner was through, they let them know that they’d see them the next day, or Dixie, anyway, when she met with the elder coven members for her interview.

  Reyna took them up to their room. Only after she’d left and closed the door behind her did Slade notice the room only had one bed.

  “They think we’re together?” Dixie asked.

  “Well, she did introduce you as my mate,” he said. “I could ask if they can find another room…”

  “No!” Dixie cried. “I mean, if this is the hospitality they offered, I don’t want to ask for more.”

  “When you’re already asking for so much, you mean? The sponsorship?”

  She nodded. “Besides, I can take the floor.”

  “That’s not going to happen.” Slade would sleep in the hall before he let her do that.

  “Do you want to share? The bed is big enough.”

  Slade’s body reacted to the idea of spending the night next to Dixie. He remembered kissing her the night before, and holding her in his arms just earlier that day. It would be
a challenge to stay to his side of the mattress, but it was where he wanted to be. It was where he could both keep an eye on her and enjoy the proximity to her.

  “If you’re comfortable with the idea.”

  “Yeah, it’s fine,” she responded while focusing on digging through her suitcase.

  He decided he needed to talk to her about what she brought up in the car and he’d avoided. “You asked me earlier how I can be willing to let you come to the coven.”

  She looked up at that. “Yeah.”

  “Do you know what a mate means?”

  “I have an idea.”

  “Shifters get one true love. It’s more than love the way humans feel it. It’s a deeper soul connection. It’s the one person who fits with us perfectly, sure, but it’s more than that. It’s not about wanting to possess the other person, but wanting them to be safe, no matter what. I would do anything for you because it’s coded in me. And if that means leaving you here, that’s what I’m meant to do.”

  “Wow,” she said while taking a few steps back. She rested her hand on the windowsill and looked out. “I guess that means we’ll always be connected in some way, even if we’re not together?”

  “Exactly.”

  She nodded and looked back at him. “Thank you for telling me this.”

  “I just wanted you to know that you can always come to me if you need anything, ever, from now until the end of time.”

  Slade thought he saw her eyes shining, but she turned back to her suitcase and made herself busy again. When she went into the shower, Slade called his father to update him on their arrival at the coven and fill him in on the movement that Maeve made against them.

  When Dixie was finished, Slade hopped into the shower. When he came out, she was already in the bed, sitting propped up and reading on her tablet.

  Slade hesitated, and she made the first move, flipping back the covers for him and patting the mattress, her cute little T-shirt and cotton pants drawing his eyes before he crawled in next to her.

  “I wanted to make sure I said thank you for helping me back then, you know, when I passed out,” she said once he was in bed.